


Before It All Began

by BlueM0usE



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mental Health Issues, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22485256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueM0usE/pseuds/BlueM0usE
Summary: Arthur Fleck was a very…interesting man when it came to Sophie Dumond. Was he strange? Maybe. Was he misunderstood? Absolutely. However, she was the only one out of a lot of those who stepped into his life that showed him genuine kindness.Even with this intriguing young woman in his life, things are about to become a little worst before they get any better. The question is, will Sophie stick around and try to make things better? Or abandon him at his worst?
Relationships: Sophie Dumond & Arthur Fleck, Sophie Dumond/Arthur Fleck
Comments: 48
Kudos: 39





	1. The Shy Man in the Elevator

It has been a long day for Sophie Dumond. She was just getting off from work on a Monday afternoon at Gotham City's local bank. She had been there since nine this morning and was just getting off at seven at night. After that, it's the cops' shift to guard the place for the night. It was sad, really. Long, excruciating hours of repeated work and yet, she could only afford this crappy apartment complex. It was very depressing. Having to work so hard only to get shoved into a dump like this. Though, she couldn’t complain. Some place was better than living out her days in the streets.

She had enough time to stop to the store to get a few things that were running out: bread, milk, butter, etc. She carried the brown bag in her arms, as she passed into the lobby to quickly check her mail. Nothing but junk mail. Advertisements, coupons to places she had never been nor had no interest in going to, business cards. Nothing like bills or letters from others. Not like she hardly got any. She barely kept in contact with anyone. Even her own mother. As sad as that sounds.

Sophie began walking towards the elevator, heels scuffling against the glossed over wooden floors. The placed smelled of that strong bathroom smell, where the toilet had a bit of too much odor. Her nose wrinkled at the stench. But, she pressed on regardless. The elevator was just in sight, however, the doors seemed to be closing. She hadn’t been paying attention to who was inside, but she knew someone was in there.

“Wait, wait!” she called, picking up into a light jog down the halls. “Keep the doors open!” Just before the doors could close, a foot and a hand had caught the door and it was opened.

“Oh my goodness, thank you!” Sophie sighed in relief, as he held the door open for her. She went to press the button to her floor, however, she realized that it had already been pushed. “Oh.” She glanced towards him. She had never seen him before, thus her surprise at his destination headed towards the same floor. “We live on the same floor.”

He only glanced at her with his piercing light green eyes. This time, Sophie was able to study his features. High cheek bones, a well defined jaw. He appeared to be around his 30’s. He was tall and lanky, such a very small man despite his height. Even with his big faded yellow hooded jacket, washed up, baggy, crinkled jeans, and busted black and white tennis shoes, you were able to tell he was rather small. His icey green eyes were such a contrast to his dark, long curly locks.

Sophie gave him a slight sympathetic smile. Even though his expression came off a bit as harsh, in his eyes, it read confusion. Like he had never had a soul try and interact with him in his life.

Meanwhile, on the man’s end, who’s name was Arthur Fleck, he was indeed very baffled. Rarely would anyone outside of his coworkers speak a word to him. Let alone a woman. Besides his own mother. A lot of the times, women gave him nasty, disgusted, uninterested looks. It was okay. Arthur was aware he wasn’t the best looking man. Plus, with his condition, it made him least approachable. He was awkward with conversations and well...just awkward in general. So he understood. But here this woman was, smiling at him. Her dimples obvious as her lips were stretched outward and upward. Her brown eyes glistened in sympathy.

She was a very beautiful young woman. Her hair styled neatly, two strands twisted and tied to the back, creating a half crown. The rest of her spongey textured hair fell just a bit past her shoulders. She wore a black leather jacket over a hot pink fit-and-flare shirt, her long, slender legs confined in a tight-fitting black skirt that fell past her knees and silver open-toe shoes.

Her beauty made it even more terrifying to utter a word, worried and anxious he would upset or disgust her in any way possible. He honestly didn't want her to stop seeming so genuinely kind to him. After all, Arthur spent most of his days being kicked on, spat at, and disregarded. It was thrilling yet terrifying to feel like he was actually there. Like his existance meant something. Even if it were for a fleeting moment. If he was dreaming, please don't wake him.

Seeing that he probably didn’t want to talk, Sophie cleared her throat and went to look down at her bag. The soft screeching and straining of the elevator sounded as it ascended upward. It rocked a bit and creaked. The bright, yet dull light blinked a couple of times, before the elevator came to a halt. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sophie let out a defeated sigh as she went to lean against the wooden walls, leaning her head against it. Her eyes focused on the door, before they rolled to peak at the stranger, who had his hands folded before him, rocking back and forth on his feet. He was trying to hide his face by looking strictly ahead. She raised a brow.

“Ugh, this place is awful isn’t it..?” she figured she would try again to maybe strike up a conversation.

He glanced at her again. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was straining himself to not say anything. Sophie forced a smile.

 _Maybe he’s just shy…_ she thought to herself. Then again, the way he was staring at her made her a feel a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m Sophie Dumond by the way.”

“A-Arthur Fleck…” he mumbled, his attention strangely focused on the elevator buttons.  
Sophie celebrated quietly. She finally got him to speak up!

“Ah, I knew you talked!” she giggled, showing off her pearly whites. Arthur was nearly breathless by her smile alone. His heartbeat only quickening as his cheeks grew hot. “You must be shy.”

“You c-could say that..” Arthur chuckled nervously, going to brush a strand of his dark curly locks behind his ear, looking down at his feet now. “I-I don’t often ha—” suddenly he hunched over a bit, beginning to laugh.

Sophie was taken aback, eyes widening as she watched him struggle, going to clutch his throat as he coughed. He seemed like he was trying to stop. Before she could say anything, the elevator dinged, the silver doors lagging open. As he was able to reduce himself to soft giggles, she quickly exited the elevator.  
“I-I’ll see you around, Mr. Fleck!” she called over her shoulder.

She felt a bit…weird. Normally she was not one to be disturbed or act hurriedly when put in these situations. She was just a bit creeped out by his strange and random outburst. She quickly pulled out her keys and searched through them to find the one to her door. She successfully unlocked the door and rushed inside, just as she was hearing footsteps enter the hall. She closed her door and locked it. She let out a shaky sigh. Thank goodness she was able to avoid confrontation in the hallway.

“Wow Sophie…that was uncalled for…” she mumbled under her breath.

She felt awfully guilty for running out on him like that. Maybe she could apologize to him the next time they crossed paths?

Yeah. That seemed reasonable.


	2. The Card

The next day rolled around quite quickly. Both woke up fairly early in the morning. The both of them rolled out of bed, got dressed, freshened up, Arthur made sure to feed his mother while Sophie made sure to feed herself breakfast, and then both were out the door. It were as if they were in perfect sync. Both exited their rooms at exactly the same time. Surprisingly all the sounds that went on at night were gone. All was silent. Except for the soft clicking of their doors.

Sophie's head raised and she looked over. So did Arthur. They stared at each other, unblinking. Sophie then smiled nervously, seemingly a little embarrassed after yesterday.

“Good morning, Mr. Fleck.”

“G-Good morning…”

It was silent yet again, both unmoving. He had averted his gaze down, before he moved away from his door and began walking, clutching his bag.

“W-Wait!” Sophie went to move quickly, trying to catch up with him.

It took everything in Arthur’s power to not stop and see what she had wanted. He was already so embarrassed after the last time.

“Mr. Fleck,” he felt a small grasp on his arm, causing him to freeze while simultaneously stiffening. “I…I just want to apologize for yesterday. It was uncalled for.”

“Wh-What?” Arthur glanced back at her, a bit taken aback.

_Is she….is she….apologizing to me..?_ He thought to himself.

“Me, rushing out of the elevator like that after your…uhm…” her brown eyes averted to the side.

“Y-Yeah, I know…I’m just confused as to why you would apologize..” he spoke up, finally looking her in the eyes. 

She gave him a bit of a shocked look. What did he mean why would she apologize? Had he never been forgiven for his random outbursts before?

“What do you mean?” Sophie tilted her head in confusion. Arthur gulped back a lump in his throat. He must be dreaming.

“I-I mean…u-usually I have to g-give someone a card I…here, hold on…” he mumbled lowly, going to pat down his jean pockets. 

Sophie watched him with a raised brow. His hand finally slipped into his left side’s pocket and pulled out a laminated card. He stretched it towards her awkwardly. She glanced at him, before reading the card carefully.

_**I have a condition.** _   
_**(more on back).** _   
_**It's a medical condition causing sudden, frequent, uncontrollable laughter that doesn’t match how you feel. It can happen in people with a brain injury or certain neurological conditions. Thank you! Kindly return this card.** _

“Oh!” Sophie glanced at Arthur, who had his head bowed. She then handed the card back to him. Arthur was careful not to graze her thumb with his in fear of skin-on-skin contact. He didn’t want to freak her out or anything. He gently took the card from her, as she continued to speak. “Well….that explains a lot. Even more reasoning on apologizing. I’m sorry you have to go through that, Mr. Fleck.”

He was once again gazing at her as if she had a deer standing on her head. Arthur was so amazed with how nice she was being to him. He was still questioning whether or not she was a figment of his imagination or not. While he gawked at her, Sophie checked her watch and gasped.

“E-Excuse me, Mr. Fleck. I have to get going! I’ll see you later, okay?” she quickly brushed past him, leaving a faint scent of lavender behind. The smell quickly invaded Arthur’s senses and it took everything in the man’s power not to lean into the scent’s tempting comfort. “Have a good day at work!” she called over her shoulder, clutching her purse tight to her.

“Y…Yeah….Y-You too!” he called back, glancing over his shoulder. He watched her as she walked into the elevator.

Arthur silently scolded himself for staring so long. But how could he not? She was so beautiful. Everything about her was like everything he had ever dreamed of in a woman. Confident, considerate, open-minded, charming, all of thee above. If her physical appearance didn’t already shout it, her personality surely. He had never met someone like her in Gotham. The city was already so shrouded in darkness. And to Arthur, she was the only living light roaming among the city. How he instantly craved her the first time they met. But he knew deep down, he knew that...there was no possible way someone like her would fall for someone like him. According to society, he was trash. He was a freak. A menace to society. Just the other day, he saw a hobo laying on the cold concrete sidewalk. Everyone just simply stepped over him and merely ignored his existence. Eventually some exterminator of some sort would come pick up his body and compact it into the trash society told him he was. It was sad really.

Oh well, at least he had his job he could look forward to. Arthur believed that his sole purpose was to make people laugh. He dreamed of being a comedian since he was younger. Ever since his mother discovered the Murray Franklin Show. He looked up to the man and aspired to be like him. To make people laugh in times of darkness. 

That is what he would become someday. If he couldn’t be Sophie’s light within the darkness, then possibly he could share his light with everyone. Someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> Once again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my work. I really appreciate it UwU
> 
> I was gonna hold off a bit in posting this chapter, but, since I feel generous today, I decided to post Chapter 2 today! So I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Until next time! UwU


	3. Carnival's Sign

Carnival was his name during the hour. And performing tricks and silly skits was his game. Oh how he enjoyed this job, though, sometimes it could take a major toll on him. It was often he would go home as his real self, make-up washed away, clothes and wig tucked away in his bag. His feet, arms, and legs would hurt, and that would keep him up most of the night. Then, come around eight, with little to no hours of sleep, he grabs his bag, freshens himself up, make sure his mother is nice and cozy, and then leaves to start it all over again. How long his shift would last depended on how long the gig would last and how many gigs he had in a day. And yet, it was still hardly enough to keep the rent up and a couple of groceries in the fridge. 

Carnival danced gleefully, making sure to remember to keep his expressions sharp and his moves flowing. He spun the sign skillfully and raised it up high, moving on beat with the piano man that played accordingly to the mood. The melody was upbeat and warm, however, everyone’s demeanor was focused, gloomy, and busy. Crowds kept on passing by, too focused on getting to their destinations on time than entertain some clown and his foolery. It wasn’t until soon, when Carnival lifted the sign and suddenly, a passerby reached up and slapped the sign out of his hand.

“Hey!” he shouted, as another one, a teenage boy that was shorter than the other, grabbed onto the sign and sprinted. He and his friends, whom were casually masked within the crowd, also bolted behind him.

In great distress, Carnival found himself quickly turning and speeding after them, making sure not to run anyone over or bump into too many people as he passed. As he ran, all that ran through his mind were all the punishment he would have to face. Not only by the owner of the store, but also by his own boss. The man was merciless when it came to Carnival’s screw ups. He didn’t like anyone messing with his money, and this situation was more than enough to rile him up. In a desperate attempt, Carnival found himself shouting and yelling after the boys, as they egged each other on to run faster and to provoke the clown.

“Stop them! Somebody!” Carnival shouted again and again. However, nobody would pay any mind to him, continuing on in the endless sea of bodies. All of them were practically moving like zombies. Besides, they figured it was his problem to deal with and his alone.  
As the source of people grew smaller and smaller, the buildings got a little more spread apart. Carnival watched as the boys slipped into the alley way. His big clown shoes made him skid across the wet gravel, nearly losing his footing. He was able to catch himself with the tip of his fingers before running down the dark alley way. At this point, he was out of breath, but he kept on pushing. They had to be somewhere around the block.  
“Hey!” he shouted once again. A couple more steps and _**BAM**_! 

Carnival went crashing down onto the ground, his sight becoming a bit blurry and his mind becoming foggy. He fell onto his back before suddenly, he was surrounded.

“Get him!” one of the boys commanded, before Carnival would feel a kick right in his shoulder blade.

“Beat his ass!” another one encouraged, as Carnival curled up onto his side, letting out a loud groan after being kicked right where his “baby maker” was. He went to cover it with his hands, as his head, legs, arms, shoulder, back, just about _anywhere_ was either kicked or punched in.

“Alright!”

“That’s enough!”

“Hurry, lets go!” 

With that, the pitter patter of feet had echoed beyond the alley way, as the boys left the poor man on the ground. 

Carnival whimpered and groaned. He was in so much pain. Surely bruises were already beginning to form. He was trying his best not to cry. Or else he would trigger his condition. Instead, he bit his lower lip, as a single tear slipped from the corner of his eye. He laid there in a puddle, the water slowly soaking into his socks and lower pants, making them even more uncomfortable than they already were. Right there was when Carnival wanted to die on spot. He may have loved his job, but deep within him, he hated people. The cruel ones. Almost everyone treated him like a punching bag and he was tired of it. Until…

“Oh my god!” he heard a feminine voice shout, soon accompanied by the pitter patter of heels. Luckily Carnival’s hearing had came back and he was able to hear the voice clearly. Wait…that voice sounded familiar. Could it be…?

Just a few minutes before, Sophie was heading out of the bank, waving over her shoulder. 

“Alright, Mia! I’ll see you later!” she called, as she carefully trudged down the few steps that sat outside of the bank and onto the sidewalk into the busy pedestrian traffic.

Honestly at this hour, she was tired and ready to go home. And a bit hungry. She figured she could stop at a store real quick and grab some snacks to munch on, before going back to finishing her long shift. She hummed softly to herself, watching as all the busy life of Gotham passed her by, not paying a single mind to her. And she was fine with that. That didn’t bother her one bit. She turned around the block and began hitting the area where least people were known to pass by. Not too many people hung out back here besides thugs and street runners. Her mind for some odd reason kept shifting back to Arthur and his condition. Just what was it called exactly? And how many people had it? What was the cause of it? How long did Arthur have it for?

All she could think about was those green eyes and that timid face staring back at her. How kind of cute he looked when he handed her the card. It was like a child giving his mother something he wasn’t supposed to have. Wait—Did she just call him cute?

Whoa.

That was…random.

Just when she was trying to take her mind off of the man, it was as if some godly force sent something in order for her to distract her. Oh, if only she knew. When she was just passing up the alley way, she peered within the darkness. A couple of bodies were running towards her and she squeaked in slight panic, as they all rushed past her. A gust of wind followed them, causing her white with pink and yellow floral dress to move with them.

“Out of the way, bitch!”

“Move, slut! Haha!”

“Oh my god!” she was the least bit worried in those children’s inappropriate, rude slander. She was more focused on the body laying in the alley way. Clutching her purse, she lightly jogged over towards the body. How did she managed to make it there on the rough, bumpy cement in heels without tripping and twisting her ankle? Nobody knows. 

By the time she had gotten to the trembling body, she shrugged her purse’s strap off her shoulder and went to softly place her hands on the arm of the stranger. He flinched noticeably and she quickly retracted her hands.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Shhh, I’m not gonna hurt you..” her voice was soft and gentle, before she went to gently place her hands on his arm again. He still flinched out of instinct, but relaxed quickly. He turned over lightly. His face was scrunched up in pain at the movement, before his eyes opened lazily. Behind long dark eyelashes were green eyes. In addition, his horribly plastered on clown wig moved up a bit, in order to reveal those dark brown familiar locks Sophie had seen just a couple of hours ago.

Her eyebrows flew up at the recognition and so did his, his eyes widening a bit in shock.

“…M-Mr. Fleck?”

“Sophie…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> Yes, I am back with another chapter! "Daaaamn Blue, you uploading fast!" I hear you say behind your phone/tablet/computer screen.
> 
> Its because I already have up to 11 CHAPTERS (as we speak) written. However, I'm giving them to you slowly so that way, it gives me time to brainstorm and write and not get burnt out too quickly. I like being ahead ^^
> 
> And so, without further ado, here is the next chapter!
> 
> Until next time! UwU


	4. Angel

“Oh my god…” Sophie sat back on her legs and covered her mouth with one hand. Meanwhile, Arthur looked away in shame. If only his make-up could of hidden his identity better. But of course, there was no hiding from her.

“I-I’m sorry..”

“For what?” her tone came off a bit harsh, though, she didn’t mean to. Her hand, which was on his arm kept shaking.

“I…I didn’t….you didn’t have to see me like this…” Arthur went to try and sit up. He grunted at the harsh sting that fell upon his side, but pushed himself anyways in order to not seem weak in front of her.

“Wait, wait.” Sophie placed her hand between his two shoulder blades and lightly pushed, as the other rested upon his chest. “No need to be getting up all fast like that.”

“I-I’m fine, really.” Arthur insisted through clenched teeth, before letting out a strangled sigh, now sitting up. His wig had came off completely, and his dark curly brown locks were now free and a bit wild. Not to mention a bit greasy from all the sweat. Sophie frowned at his response, giving him a bit of an impatient look.

“No, Mr. Fleck. You’re not ‘fine’. What they did to you is unforgivable! Here, I’ll call for an ambulance—”

“No! No…” he coughed a bit before once again, he began laughing. He gripped one of her wrist that went to reach into her back, while his other clutched his chest. He laughed and laughed, coughing in between. It sounded as if he was clearing his throat, an even more pained expression coming upon his features. “Don’t….call…. _haha_ …can’t afford… _eheh_ …hospital bill.”

“Well then what should I do?” Sophie seemed desperate. She wanted to help him as best as he could. He was obviously injured. Most likely in need of medical assistance. Who knows what could be going on in his body without medical assistance. A blood clot, internal bleeding, _brain damage_! 

“L….Leave me here…” he was able to get out, before thankfully, his laughing fit stopped. He then went to look around. He caught a glimpse of his wig behind him and went to grab it. He placed it on top of his head, adjusting it as best as he could to hide his hair again. “I’ll be fine….”

“Mr. Fleck…” before he could even move, Sophie had reached over and grabbed his shoulder. Her brown eyes caught his green eyes in a staring contest. In this moment, both were captivated by each other’s longing glare. “How….How often does this happen to you...?”

Arthur looked at her a bit puzzled.

“Wh-What do you mean?—”

“This.” She gestured to his heart by placing her hand over it. Arthur found his cheeks growing hot again as his heartbeat increased. “All of this…”

“……O-Oh!” Arthur finally realized what she was talking about. Though, he was very reluctant to answer. “I-I mean….I—”

“Hey sickos! Get a room!” both of their head snapped in the direction towards the end of the alleyway. Apparently, someone must have been passing by and saw them together in the alleyway. Mistaking them for…

“I-I gotta go.” Arthur strained to push himself back onto his feet. Sophie tried her best to help him up, trying not to cause any more injury. By the time he had stood back up on his feet, Sophie went to bend down and grab her bag, slinking it over her shoulder once again. “I….have to get back to work…”

“M-Me too…” she mumbled, eyeing his attire.

It wasn’t until then she noticed his rather goofy looking attire. A wig obvious from where his actually head was and where the wig began, sporting a bald top with green hair around the edges. A little brown hat decorated with a yellow sun flower was plastered upon the wig more towards the side of his head. His face was painted white to somewhat match the skin of the wig. Blue paint formed in the shape of triangles adorned both his top and bottom parts of his eyes. His big, round, shiney red clown nose looked squeakable. Around his mouth was a big, painted on red smile outlined in black. He wore a plaid suit jacket over a yellow vest with a red and golden striped tie, tied around a white collared dress shirt. Upon his jacket, he had a large red flower. His black high-rise pants were big and baggy on his rather small frame. A patch of a completely different design of material; purple plaid was patched onto the knee of the pants. Even his red and blue shoes were way too big for his feet. He wore white gloves upon his hands which completed the look with a cartoonish appeal.

Sophie snorted into her hand, trying to hide her ever pestering grin. Arthur raised an eyebrow, as she turned her head, further trying to hide it.

“I-I’m so sorry!” She forced out through giggles and soft snorts. “I-It’s just…your attire for work is so..cute!” Sophie finally had managed to clear her throat and calm herself down. She also didn’t want to burst into her own fits of laughter, for she hated the way she snorted when she laughed.

“Sophie…Can you do me one favor?” Arthur asked, looking at her cautiously.

“Y-Yeah?”

He looked down shyly, before looking back at her, fiddling with his fingers shyly. She raised a brow, as she crossed her arms, waiting patiently. 

“C…Can you….I..I like your smile. You…Y-You shouldn’t have to hide it from me…” Arthur wanted to kick himself as soon as he let that slip. Why would he say that to her? Now she’ll _definitely_ have a reason to not want to be around him.

“S-Sorry..” she smiled sheepishly. “I just didn’t want to offend you with my laughter is all.”

 _How could you ever? Your smile and laughter complete me_. Arthur thought to himself, before shaking his head.

“No, no. You’re fine, you’re good….” He looked down at the ground again, scuffling the ball of his foot on the cement again. Sophie nodded.

“Good. I’ll see you around then.” Sophie then turned around, sneaking one last glance Arthur’s way. She then began walking away, the light from the outside of the alley beginning to surround her, making her glow almost.

What Arthur did to ever deserve such kindness, he prayed it would never go away. Ever.

She was his angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> I'm back with another chapter! OwO Mmm, not really much to say today, besides, well, enjoy! ^^ 
> 
> Until next time!


	5. Gunshot

Arthur sat on the couch, shirtless. He wore comfortable baggy pajama pants that were a dark blue color, one of his favorite pants to get comfortable in. He had just brought his mother to her room a few minutes ago. Soon she would likely be dosing off to sleep as she always did. Poor sweet woman.

He took a lazy drag of his 12th cigarette he had for today. He was hunched over, showing off all of his vertebrae that threatened to burst out of his skin with how small he was. He was practically anorexic. Though, not intentionally. His medication dulled his hunger and on top of that, he already had little to no food as it was. He wanted to make sure his mother had plenty, even if it would cost putting away his own selfish need to eat. He was fine with taking nibbles and pieces of things, but never a whole meal. The tips of his fingers played with the silver metal of the pistol his coworker, Randall had given him. The metal was cool and it’s aura was deadly. Something Arthur definitely wasn’t accustomed to. 

As the TV played a catchy, dance number for the show, Arthur found himself compelled to be pulled onto his feet. He had the gun clutched in his hand and he began swaying to the music. His little thin body moved, finding his hands hoisted above his head. He imagined himself in a setting surrounded by people. Dressed in a nice, pressed suit. His usual messy hair having been slicked and pulled back from his face. His dark shoes shiney and polished as can be. He was surrounded by the luscious scenery of a bright ball room, surrounded by bachelors and beauties alike. He pictured some random young blonde woman coming up to him, looking up at him with big, beautiful brown eyes.

“Hey, what’s your name?” he imitated in a slightly higher pitch, watching the woman’s red lips in his mind moving as he spoke.

“Arthur.” He answered himself casually in his normal voice, holding the gun high above his head. Picturing her going to place her hands on his chest, swaying along with him to the beat.

“You’re a good dancer, Arthur.”

“Mhmm. You know who isn’t?” he paused, before going to point the gun towards the wall right next to the window leading to outside. He imagined a wealthy young handsome man, who was much bigger and broader than he was. Someone likely to try and pick on him out of spite. Light blue eyes, nice healthy tan complexion and shorter brown hair styled with a bang being brushed back just so perfectly. He seemed to be minding his own business before Arthur pointed the gun at the imaginary man. “He is.”

Arthur pulled the trigger, not expecting the gun to go off. However, it did, and Arthur found himself nearly jumping out of his skin. He dropped the gun immediately and turned his head towards the TV. He dove for it and his long, boney finger managed to turn the dial, thus turning the dial up.

“Arthur?! What was that?!” a sudden voice called. It was his mother. Her frail, delicate voice straining to be high enough over the loud blasting music. “Is everything okay?!”

“Y-Yeah! I’m okay, Ma! J-Just watching a scary movie!” he called back, going to scramble for the gun and hide it away.

“Well turn it down!” she fussed. 

Arthur went to shakily reach back to turn the volume down. As soon as he did, he heard a knocking on the door. His heart had leaped into his throat. His mind automatically assumed the worst. Was a cop at his door? Were they coincidentally within the vicinity when they heard it? Or was it a nosey neighbor coming to try and snitch. He almost decided against opening the door when a faint familiar voice came from behind it.

“Mr. Fleck?”

“S-Sophie?” he seemed a bit shocked. He then found his heartbeat increasing once again. But not due to the scare. More due to her presence just beyond the door. God, just having her _near_ was enough to get him excited. And no, not in a sexual way. But more as in a…high school crush way.

He went to brush a strand of his hair behind his ear and quickly paced himself towards the door. He let out a sharp breath before he grabbed the knob and opened it.

There was Sophie, her messy spongey hair tied up in a poofy bun, a floral headband being worn as an accessory just to keep it all in place for the most part. She wore a blue long sleeve top with pink pajama pants that had doughnut designs, and cute little pink bunny slippers. Arthur raised an eyebrow to this. He found it most amusing. A young woman like her dressing up like a teenage girl. He couldn’t complain. Her bunny slippers only added to the cuteness appeal as did the doughnut pajama pants. Though, her expression didn’t seem careless in the slightest. In fact, she seemed most alarmed.

“I-I’m sorry to be interrupting Mr. Fleck,” she began, her eyes never leaving his. “But I heard a what sounded like a gunshot come from here. Is everything okay?” her tone seemed panicked. Arthur shook his head, trying to play it off casually.

“No, no! No gunshots here! Nope…y-you must’ve heard my TV. I was uh….I was….watching a…scary movie. Yup…” he chuckled nervously, averting his eyes to the ground as he often did when he got nervous. His hands which were in his pajama pants were beginning to become sweaty and he could feel his nerves begin to shake them up a bit.

“O-Oh. What scary movie?” she tried to peek over his shoulder curiously. Even getting on her tippy-toes to try and see.

“U-Uh, uhm…haha…see, funny thing is…I can’t remember….so…yeah…sorry…” he trailed off, as he looked up again to see her eyes scan his body in horror. He began to panic slightly.

 _Oh shit_. Arthur thought, _Does she think I look disgusting or something?_

He knew it. He was probably not the type of man she was attracted to.

“Mr. Fleck, I don’t mean to intrude but…” Sophie paused, her eyes then averting to his. Her eyebrows were furrowed. “You….you’re very small….are you….?”

“No….no—I mean—…I am but…maybe not as often as I should…” Arthur shrugged a bit. “I’m sorry…” Sophie gave him a look of disapproval, though, it was more playful seeming than harsh.

“Now Mr. Fleck….there’s no excuse.” Sophie placed one hand on her hip as she pointed her finger up at him with the other, the corner of her lips turning upwards a bit. “You’re sickenly thin…how’s about I cook dinner for us tomorrow, hm? My place? After work?” she smiled.

Arthur’s heart dropped.

Was she…was she asking him on a _date_?

No, surely it wasn’t a date! They had only known each other for _two_ days. No way would she be willing to move that fast. He wasn’t even sure if she even liked him the way he liked her. Probably never would. However, it seemed like she wouldn’t let him slip from her plans to invite him over. She seemed like the type to keep bugging you until you gave in. Not that Arthur wouldn’t mind. He wouldn’t mind that at all.

“I….I guess….I….I have a therapy meeting after work tomorrow…uh…so it’d kinda be late…” he rubbed the back of his neck, looking down.

“Oh! No problem.” Her eyebrows raised, her smile never disappearing. “Nine-ish okay?”

“Mmm…gotta take care of my mother…she uh….she’s kinda sick so….I try and get home as soon as I can…”

“Mmm..how about Friday night? Are you free then?”

See? Pester. Once again, not that Arthur didn’t mind. He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, before clicking his tongue playfully and looking back at her with a shy smile. 

“Is 8 okay?”

“Perfect.” Sophie giggled a bit. “I’ll see you then, Mr. Fleck.”

“Okay. See you then. Sorry about the noise..”

“It’s okay. Goodnight, Mr. Fleck.”

“Goodnight Sophie..” he watched her as she turned and began walking down to her apartment door. He stood there for a few moments, mesmerized before closing the door.

Somebody pinch him. He must be dreaming. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers! 
> 
> Its so good to see you once again, for another chapter of my fanfic!
> 
> I've been loving all the feedback I've been getting. Thank you all so much ^^ I really thought this story was kind of sucking, but you guys truly proved me wrong. I shall keep going, for the sake of more Arthur/JokerxSophie fanfiction!! >8D
> 
> Until next time! ^^


	6. Thursday

Come around Thursday, the day passed by fairly slowly for the two. The both of them seemed more anxious for their little plans Friday. Though, it kept on Arthur’s mind more than it did Sophie’s. He had to scold himself multiple times every time the idea of a nice little table set with a fancy little table cloth, a candle, and a dimly lit room crossed his mind. She was only offering to feed you because you’re unhealthily thin Arthur. That’s all. He couldn’t help but find himself chuckling and laughing to himself, the tips of his fingers lightly brushing over his lips. A cigarette was clenched between his two fingers as he snickered and struggled to keep from laughing as his nerves rised. 

Meanwhile, his therapist sat cross from him. Her expression showed that she was unamused, yet unphased by his laughing. She had become used to it by now. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time she had to deal with a total nutcase. She could only wait until he calmed himself.

“Heh….I-I’m sorry….” Arthur murmured, going to suck on that sweet nicotine juice packed into one tiny stick.

“…..” she sat there for a minute, before nodding. “It’s alright. No need to apologize.” She went on. “How was your week, Arthur? How is your job?”

“…It’s…..It’s been….heh…haha….I guess its been a bit brighter than it usually is…” he replied slowly. She raised a brow.

“Have you been keeping up with your journal?” she questioned, skipping over his suddenly optimistic statement. While she was slightly curious, she’d rather keep it professional.

Arthur’s smile only stretched. His leg bounced slightly, his hand grasping his knee. His bright green eyes refused contact. 

“Arthur…” her tone came out a bit more strict. Like a mother scolding her child for not completing their homework. 

He seemed reluctant…again. She had already had this problem with Arthur before. She requested his journal. He would come up with excuses on why he couldn’t show it. He misplaced it, he forgot it at home, he thought he took it with him but he guessed he didn't, etc. If she wasn’t a fairly patient, paid woman, she would of turned him away.

“Arthur, we’ve been over this…I requested that you keep up with your journal so we can discuss—”

“I-I have it…don’t worry.” He suddenly out-burst, going to reach into his bag he carried around with him. He figured he’d give her what she was looking for.

He pulled out the worn, leather covered material. The book seemed like it could fall apart at any moment if it wanted to. He reached over, handing it to her. She took it, going to flip it over and scan the pages.

“I…I’ve been writing some jokes in it…” he said softly, looking down at his lap, refusing to meet her gaze.

She could see that. As soon as the book got to the middle page, she noticed one joke bolded out. There it was. A clear sign something was wrong. She read it out loud softly.

“’I hope my death makes more cents than my life.’” She glanced up at him. To him, her stare seemed a bit amused at what he had wrote. To her, however, she was deeply concerned.

The late night streets of Gotham were never dead silent. If it weren’t obnoxious loud voices, it was loud honking. If it weren’t loud honking, it was gunshots followed by screaming. If it weren’t gunshots followed by screaming, it was ambulance sirens/cop car sirens/fire truck sirens. The sidewalks were just as busy as they were during the day. Though, they were more infested with gangs looking to mug civilians, drug dealers looking to make some extra cash, prostitutes looking to help pay their bills, and god knows whatever else. 

A young woman like Sophie should be terrified of walking the dark, cold streets alone. Even with being masked within the fellow civilians. Anything could happen.

However, she was relaxed. Calm almost. A cigarette dangling from between her lips as both her hands were in her pockets. Clouds of smoke eased past her lips before she went to pinch it between her two fingers. She was honestly tired, hungry, and so done with tonight. Her skin still adorned goosebumps despite wearing her black coat to keep her warm. As she walked, all she could do was think about tomorrow night. What should she cook? What would Arthur like? Was he allergic to anything? Would he even eat considering he didn’t seem to be the type of guy with an appetite?

All these questions roamed within her mind, only making things even more nerve wracking. It wasn’t until she passed up a gang of thugs sitting around some steps to the side of a booming, yet run-down club where she was broken from her concentration. They were masked within the shadows right by the street light, which shined brightly overhead. 

“Well hello, gorgeous.” One of them cooed, earning snickers and hoots and hollers from his possy. 

Sophie kept walking. She knew better than to try to speak with the likes of them. Instead, she clutched her bag tighter with the hand that had her cigarette clenched between her fingers while the other slowly reached into her bag. Unbeknownst to them. It seemed Sophie’s lack of interaction only pissed him off. Little did she know, he also happened to have a little something of his own.

“Ey, bitch!” he flew off the porch and followed behind her, finally unmasking his identity. He was skinny, but not Arthur skinny. He wore a long-sleeve black top with overly baggy, sagging jean pants that sagged kind of low to the point you could see his red plaid boxers underneath. He wore nice white tennis shoes he mostly stole from someone. His grey beanie was so low, it was covering his eyebrows, just above his eyes. By his neck, anyone could tell he had tattoos possibly all over his body. “I was talkin’ to y—AAAHHHH!!” he let out a shrill scream.

He had caught Sophie’s arm and as soon as he made contact, Sophie had pulled out a small bottle of mace and shot it _right_ into his orbitals. He dropped whatever he had hidden behind his back, it clanking to the cold concrete ground. It gleamed within the light, signifying it’s material the blade was made out of. A knife.

“Hey!” one of his crew members shouted, as they all sprung up.

Sophie wasted no time. She turned and did the logical thing. She knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere fast in heels, so she kicked them off and ran. Barefoot. Even leaving her cigarette behind. 

“After her!” another one of them shouted, the sound of fast footsteps following her. 

Luckily, she was faster. The adrenaline had shot through her legs, as she high-tailed it down the street. Passer-bys looked at her funny, but she didn’t care. She needed to get away and fast. Her heart was pounding within her chest, her mind telling her to not stop even though she was becoming fatigued. She quickly managed to run into a dark alleyway. She quickly went to duck behind the garbage can, trying to stiffle her heavy breathing.

“Quick! She went this way!”

“Get that bitch! Kill her!”

“Fuckin' hoe!” 

Idiots. They ran right past the area she was hiding in. Regardless, she waited a couple of minutes to give it some time. Once she felt that the coast was clear, she emerged from her spot. Sophie took one more glance on both ends of the alley, before she sighed. Hopefully, she’ll never run into them again!

“Punks…” she went to pull out another cigarette and make her way in the opposite direction. Her feet were cold, and she winced. Gotham City already had a garbage problem as it is. So the build of garbage within an alley way was garunteed. She smelled of garbage from being so close and knew she would need a bath soon. She didn’t like the feeling of concrete on her feet. But it was either lose the shoes or lose her life.

She chose life obviously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> Back with another chapter! Oh boy, this is going more smoothly than I thought ^^ I'm just glad to have chapter 6 out. Though, I see chapter 6 are more of a filler than anything. But don't worry! I promise, chapter 7, 8, and 9 will be good!
> 
> So, until next time! ^^


	7. The First Snap Part 1

Come around Friday, both ends were excited for what was to come tonight. It was all Sophie could think about and it’s all Arthur wanted to talk about with his mother. Sadly, she didn’t really pay too much attention to his rambling and instead was so focused on writing some letter to Thomas Wayne. It was alright. Arthur was sure his mother felt happy for him. In addition, Arthur was gleeful to be here at the hospital, entertaining all the poor little kids who have the misfortune of being in such a dreadful place. He was honestly afraid after his slip up with his last gig. His boss, Hoyt Vaughn, seemed like he was on the verge of firing him on the spot for all the mishaps happening on his part. The man already threatened to take the damage’s cost out of his paycheck. Which means this week’s check was going to be a bit shorter. Oh well. 

He should have been used to it by now. It seemed like no matter what, everything was his fault. He was the one to blame for every and any bad thing that happened. For awhile, he questioned his existence. What his purpose was. He already knew that he was destined to try and bring joy into the lives of others. But it seems with every single passing second, something was bound to go wrong. And Arthur would be the first one to be blamed.

However, being around so many young faces that lit up at the sight of him made his heart flutter and his gloomy spirits raise. The nurses stayed within the room and supervised. Which was understandable. After all, anything could happen. The song “ _If You’re Happy and You Know It_ ” played on the small radio that sat upon one of the smooth, cold metal table that was usually used to hold any of the doctor’s instruments. Arthur skillfully moved his mouth along with the music that played, changing his expressions playfully and moving his body accordingly. It was as if he were made for this role. The children, even the nurses seemed to be eating it up, as even they were encouraging the children to perform some of the moves.

Ah, yes. Everything was going nice and smoothly. Until…

**_Clink-clonk._ **

If Arthur hadn’t looked down, he _definitely_ would of missed it. As soon as he saw the L-shaped weapon on the floor, he panicked. He let out a small distressed noise, going to dive for the gun. He accidentally ended up kicking it a bit further. So those who didn’t see or notice, definitely noticed then. He scurried over to it and managed to pick it up, trying to stuff it into his pocket as he looked around at all the stunned faces. Even the nurse had her hands covering her mouth in shock, as the other looked at him alarmed. He tried to play it off, putting a finger over his lips in a “shh”ing manner. Besides the music continuing on in the background, it was dead silent within the room now.

Right there, once again, Arthur wanted to die on spot.

The only thing that would lighten up the mood was the one single child who still giggled at the stunt.

“Wait. Please. I-I love this job..”

“Arthur…” Hoyt began, Arthur’s body stiffening a bit at his tone. It was obvious if the man wasn’t pissed the last time, he _surely_ was pissed this time. “I need to know why you brought a _gun_ to a _kid’s_ hospital.”

“It’s a prop.” He lied. He was trying his best to hold it together on the phone. But the chances with having his job slip away was growing even moreso with each agonizing minute that passed. The poor man could only desperately clutch onto what little hope he had left. “I-It’s part of my act now—”

“That’s BULLSHIT!” Hoyt raised his voice, causing Arthur to jump a bit. “What kinda clown carries a fuckin' gun? Besides, Randall told me recently you tried to buy a 38 off ‘im last week!”

Arthur’s heart sank. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. The _same_ person who was apparently so say looking out after him...the same one who gave him the gun in the first place actually…

“…Randall told you that?—”

“You’re a fuck up, Arthur! And a liar. Ya fired!” 

**_Click!_ **

The empty dial tone soon followed the click. It was there that Arthur’s heart crumbled into a million pieces. His heart sank into the very pit of his body, as he felt the sting of tears fill his eyes. He went to release the phone and step closer to the glass window of the payphone. He rested his forehead against it, upper body slumped over. Within a few seconds, he reeled his head back and pushed hard, head-butting the glass so roughly that the glass actually cracked under impact.

Eventually, the darkness of the night fell upon Gotham City once again. Upon the underground tunnels that fostered the train system of transportation, on one of the trains, there was a mere clown. Sitting there, looking burnt out and defeated. His cold, dead expression stared out the glass window. There was no hope left in his expression. He had lost his job, the very job that he had grown to become fond of. And it was all his fault…again. Arthur turned away from the outside to stare down at the dirty ground, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the very few people who rode the station’s train. Now how was he going to pay the rent? To take care of his mother? To afford food for them to eat…

Food…

It wasn’t until it clicked in Arthur’s mind what he and Sophie had planned for tonight. Within the mist of dismay and disappointment he had almost forgotten. However, seeing as though his spirits were broken, he did not want to burden Sophie with his mopey demeanor. It would be disappointing, especially to her, but he might just have to cancel tonight. 

He dreaded that. The very thought of him being screamed at for wasting her time soon followed by a slam of the door in his face only made his already crinkled heart shrink even more. But it was a must. He was drained at this point and honestly just needed time to himself.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even noticed the train’s sudden stop. A few of the passengers had boarded off and he was finally able to look across at the other window from across the room. That is, until he heard voices talking amongst themselves. Arthur glanced over to witness a couple of young men, two talking about some girl not taking interest in him while the other had his arm extended, a white crinkled paper bag in his hand. Meanwhile the lady who sat across from him, had her eyes down. More focused in the book she was reading.

“Hey…you want some french fries…?” the boy waved the bag a bit. He even caught his friends' attention. However, he didn’t catch the woman’s. “ _Hellooooo_? I’m talking to you, hey—”

“No. No thank you.” The woman had glanced up and gave a very forced smile, before going to look back down at her book. It was obvious she preferred not to deal with their silly teenage-ish game.

“You sure?” He questioned, as his friends on side of him started chuckling a bit. He reached into the bag and pulled out a french fry, looking at it as if it were the most interesting thing he saw in the world. He then glanced back at her, whom was still trying to ignore him. “They’re really good…”

The annoying, irritating bright light of the subway train cut off, before blinking on again. One of his friends had moved over to sit beside him, egging his friend on.

“Don’t ignore him! He’s being nice to you.” His friend began laughing, as the other tauntingly tossed his fry over at her.

Arthur glanced over to see the woman’s expression. Her dark eyes were focused on him now. It were as if she was silently begging for him to do or say something. _Anything_. It was in this moment, Arthur felt small, and powerless. His eyes glossed over, as he looked away, trying to laugh it off. What could he possibly do to help her out of the situation? Snap his fingers and make them poof away? If only life were that simple, he would of done it in a heartbeat. He had already been through enough today. He need not get his hands dirtier.

As three young men continued to laugh in amusement at her quiet frustration, suddenly, Arthur’s boisterous laughs began to fill up the subway. It caused the boys to stop and glare over at him. A mix of confusion and amusement on their expressions. From the corner of his eyes, Arthur knew he had caught their attention. And he would soon regret it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> I am back again, and guess what? I don't have just one chapter, but I have TWO chapters with me! Yup! That's right. Well, originally chapters 7 and 8 were supposed to all be one chapter. However, because it was pretty long, I ended up splitting it into two. So enjoy chapter 7 and chapter 8!
> 
> Until next time! ^^


	8. The First Snap Part 2

Arthur found himself in a small fit of laughters. He tried to contain them. He covered his mouth with his hand and managed to stop his indecent laughing. He glanced over at them apologetically as the light blinked once again and then looked away. Arthur was hoping and praying it was over, but whatever forces that were out there were solely against him. He burst into another fit of laughter, as the young men looked at him in disbelief. The third, whom was the only one standing up, seemed a bit impatient, glaring at him.

“Is something funny, asshole?” He called out past Arthur’s snorts and chuckles. 

In response, Arthur raised up a hand and waved, trying to signal for them to ignore him and go back to what they were doing. However, the boys had little to no intention of leaving him alone. At least, not when he dared laugh in their faces.

“Biotch!” One of the boys threw his bag on the floor, as the other one groaned, waving him off. It was at this point, Arthur couldn’t help but rock himself back and forth, which didn’t help his image at all. He was rocking himself as a form of comfort, for he was deathly terrified for what he felt was to come. To them, he was rocking back and forth out of pure amusement, enhancing his laughter. The boy whom was standing up glanced at his pals, a glint in his eye signaling he had an idea. He then glanced back towards Arthur and slowly began making his way over to him.

“Isn’t it rich? Are you prepared?” suddenly, he began to break out into song, “Where Are the Clowns?”. His friends hooted and laughed, hyping the young man up. They soon would stand up and follow after him, as the lights continued to flash and blink.

Arthur’s, despite his laughing rage, expression turned horrid, as with each passing flash, they only seemed to have inched closer and closer. It wasn’t too soon until the one singing to him tauntingly was before him. One of his friends, the one with the bag earlier, was sitting beside him. He was mocking Arthur’s laughter, having grasped the green, frilly hairs from his wig and pulled it off. It revealed the brown, glistened, slicked back hair underneath. Arthur could only glance as he laughed as the young man put it on, continuing to mock Arthur. The other young man stood on the other side of the young man whom was singing. He had a crooked smirk upon his face, looking down upon Arthur, just _knowing_ they were about to give it to Arthur good.

The young man before him suddenly stopped singing, his eyes becoming dark and sinister, his smile fading.

“So funny, tell us what’s so fuckin' funny?” Even his tone became awfully aggressive.

“Nothing, I— _Hahahaha_!—” Arthur grabbed the collar of his shirt and coughed, trying to swallow back down the laughter that threatened to escape. He patted his chest, before he strained out, going to reach into his bag. “I-I have a co-condition—”

Before Arthur could even touch his bag, the young man sprung over and grabbed it. He wrenched it from Arthur, causing the other man to get up and try and reach for it.

“I’ll tell ya what’chya have, asshole!” He moved the bag away from Arthur.

Before Arthur could register, immediately, the man behind him locked his arms under Arthur’s armpits, putting him in a lock. Arthur’s wig fell off in the process with how fast he had sprung up to grab the small, yet tall man. The other man tossed his bag elsewhere, as the other two began laughing. He then went to turn and raised his arms, looking to punch Arthur in the stomach. Out of instinct, Arthur brought his legs up to try and kick the man. 

“Ohoho, we gotta kicker, huh?” He taunted, as Arthur thrashed and bucked within the other man’s grasp.

“Hold him steady, hold him steady!” The other boy called. 

The one who had gotten kicked reeled his right hand back. The knuckles of his fist connected with Arthur’s cheek. It was then the one who was restraining him’s grip was loosened. Arthur fell to the ground. 

“Stay down, freak!” 

Arthur laid there, flashes continuously going through his mind. He felt the strikes of their hard, leather loafers. They kept pelting him over and over, as they laughed at him. They laughed at his pain. His agony. They just wouldn’t leave him alone. They just wouldn’t go away. They _just_ wouldn’t _leave him alone_. What had he done to deserve this? Nothing. He did _nothing_. All he did was laugh. All. He did. Was _laugh_. And he was being punished. For the curse upon him that he didn't even ask for. This condition. His _life_. He didn't ask to be here. He didn't deserve this. He was sick of it. He was tired of it.

The lights blinked a couple of times, the boys seeming to enjoy punishing this man. Until..

_**BANG!!** _

The leader of their little group was the first one to perish. His body went limp, as a dark, red, sticky liquid splattered across the top side of the walls, along with a little on the ceiling. The lights continued to blink as the boys stared in horror, their brains now realizing what had happened as their friend’s now lifeless body hit the floor with a thud. They began screaming, as one of them backed up into the doors of the train. Big mistake.

_**BANG!!** _

He was the next to go. Blood splattered onto the glass windows and metal behind him. His expression was in shock; total horror for a second, as if registering that he had just been shot, before his body slowly collapsed onto the floor. The only one left’s screams echoed within the empty cart. He hurriedly moved to the doors as a bullet went flying straight past him.

Arthur climbed up onto his feet as the young man went to open the doors and run into the next cart.

“Hey!!” he shouted, desperately trying to open the doors to the outside of the cart. 

Arthur struggled up, stumbling, his hand trembling and shaking, as he still aimed the gun. His heart was beating rapidly within his chest, his mind blank. He went to move around the pole, before going to check back to see if the other two would get up. He aimed the gun at both of their lifeless bodies. The first one. Then the second one. First, and then second. He then paused, stumbling more. For a moment, he aimed the gun at his temple, before going to drop it back to his side. He leaned over and grabbed his plaid bag. He could still hear the other boy’s screams, as the intercom came on, signaling the next soon stop.

It was as if his mind shut off. All logical reasoning thrown out the window. Everything he stood for; trying to be a good person, gone. He was in full blown panic mode. His heart told him to leave the poor man alone, he suffered enough. But his mind told him if he didn’t kill the last one, Arthur would likely get in trouble. Then, he couldn’t take care of his mother nor see Sophie ever again. Then…there was a small, darker voice in the back of his head that cut out both factors all together.

_**Kill him. They all deserved it.** _

Arthur began moving towards the doors.

“ _HEEEEEEYYYYYY_!!!” he banged upon the doors, until finally, they opened. 

From the other side, Arthur had peeked out, still aiming the gun. The young man saw a glint of silver from further down. He had a feeling he was still there. He _knew_ he was still there, waiting for him. But he had no choice. It was either stay here stuck on the train and have the clown man come through the other doors and shoot or try and make it to the exit with at least a chance of keeping his life. Thus, he exited the doors just as they were about to close on him.

Arthur saw him running, still aiming. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He moved from the doors and began moving towards him. It was like he was hunting him down. For once, he was now the hunter and the one who threatened to hurt him was now the prey. The young man continued screaming, running towards the stairway. Just before he could make it however, Arthur’s finger that was just dancing over the trigger finally pushed it. 

**_POW_ _!!!_ **

It hit the boy right in the leg, causing him to collapse. However, he wasn’t done yet. With every strength that he had despite the overhearing pain he was unfamiliar with now in his only decent source of escape, he began crawling. His jacket was rolling up, showing his white shirt underneath. His hands finally reached the first couple of steps. However, just as he was able to drag his upper body on the steps, the approaching footsteps stopped. He continued to scream out for help, but it was too late.

About four if not five bullets found themselves in the young man’s back.

_**Click click click.** _

No more bullets. Arthur stood there, gun still raised. His chest was rising and falling heavily. After a few moments, he finally lowered the gun. His eyes rolled around anxiously. Without thought, he clutched his bag to him and ran up the steps.

He just…ran. He ran and ran. He ran and ran some more. Around the block, down the street, across the park, buildings, people, and the few cars that were around past him. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he just needed to get away.

He found himself sliding into a public bathroom. Once he was inside and he slammed the door shut, he leaned against it with both hands. His head bowed. His strands of hair covering his face. His breaths were un-even and heavy. The adrenaline had still not ceased coursing through his veins. His arms twitched a couple of times, before…he suddenly found his feet moving.

His ribcage tingled and his spine felt a sweet, delicious sensation move through each nook and craney of his vertebrae. Suddenly his soul felt heavy…but…not in a bad way. It was as if whatever was being caged within him was finally being set free. He moved across the flooring, slow, cautious, careful, articulated. It was as if he was at full peace right now, not a care in the world at the tragedy that just happened. He felt so alive, like his cold, dead corpse of a body that had been walking around for months finally had breath being breathed into him again. By the time he had finished his oddly beautiful dance, his finale was to stand in the mirror, arms stretched out wide, looking at his tattered painted face in the mirror. After that moment, it was as if he blacked out.

One minute he was in the bathroom, the next, he was outside, down the sidewalk, around the block, in the warm lobby of the apartment complex, and in the elevator. Once the doors slid open, he immediately strode out and past the doors. Every movement he made screamed full and complete control. Utter confidence and complete dominance. For once his shoulders stood tall, back straight, head up, and chest out. His bag that he was swinging at his side was thrown to the side. He passed the door to his apartment complex and towards that familiar door. He stood before it and banged his knuckles against it a couple of times. He wasn’t going to stop until it opened. A few moments later and the door opened.

There was that beautiful face. The face of an angel. _**His**_ angel.

She looked confused at him.

“M-Mr. Fle—” she couldn’t even finish. He moved towards her and cupped her cheeks in his hand, nothing too rough, but just urgent enough to get the point across. He leaned in and leaned down a bit.

Their lips had finally met for the first time. 


	9. Call Me "Arthur"

Her mind couldn’t register what was happening. One minute, she was napping on the couch to the living room. Dinner had been cooked for them since eight o’clock, and it was going on ten o’clock. The first few minutes in after eight and she began to speculate maybe he was running late. A few minutes turned into about an hour. Maybe he was helping his mother with something. An hour turns into thirty minutes. She was beginning to worry maybe he had stood her up and wasn’t coming. Maybe she scared him off or something. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested in coming over for food in the first place. So, she decided to lay down on the couch and kind of dose off to whatever was on the small television. Then, she hears desperate knocking on the door. It causes her to stir in her sleep, slowly blinking her eyes open. She checks the time. Its 10:02 PM.

“God…who could that be so late…” Sophie pushed herself to sit up and swings her legs over the edge of the couch. She stands up, going to pull her blue sweater down a bit. She walks over to the door, lightly patting the big puff bun on top of her head before reaching to open the door.

The sight before her leaves her stunned.

It was Arthur. Still in his clown get-up. Only this time, the wig was missing and so was his jacket. In addition, his make-up is smeared for the most part and there seems to be red droplets not only dotting his face, but also his vest. Not to mention, he had some strange red, dried up streak running from his nostrils down his chin. She couldn’t register what it was, for she wouldn’t have much time to.

“Mr. Fle—” she couldn’t even finish her sentence. He stepped in without warning, going to cup her face within his hands. The next thing she knew, warm, lightly wet lips meets hers.

Her mind is swimming.

Inside her mind, she was screaming what the actual hell? But then, her body completely failed her, as she felt his warm body press up against hers, his left arm going to wrap around her waist and hold her close. Her widened eyes slowly slid down to half-way, before closing completely, going to wrap her arms around his neck, as they began walking backwards. Sophie lifted her hand to catch the door and push it close, just before they went further inside, Arthur lightly pushing her to bump up against the back of the couch. 

She was able to break the kiss for a moment, licking her lips of whatever the red splats were that were around his lips that smeared onto hers. It was bitter, copper tasting. It was **_blood_**.

“M-Mr. Fleck…a-are you okay? Are you bleeding? I-I—”

He didn’t say a word. He only silenced her again with his lips, his soft, large hands going to squeeze her hips, continuing to press his small body against hers. Sophie could feel the warmth of her cheeks only grow hotter, as her mind began to become foggy from judgement. She knew for sure that this was wrong. They hadn’t even known each other for that long. Only a couple of days to be exact. And yet, here she was, her body fully betraying her from the neglected type of attention she hasn’t received in years.

Arthur broke the kiss to move down and lay rather aggressive kisses on her neck. Sophie let out a soft sigh as she gripped his shoulders.

“M-Mr. Fleck, I-I—”

“I need you.” Arthur growled lowly within her neck. “Let me have you.” It was more of a command rather than a request.

This was so odd, he was acting so…different. The Arthur she was familiar with was more timid, shy, and very apologetic for the smallest things. Right now, he was radiating so much dominance…It was turning Sophie on greatly. Plus, it had been so long. So, so long since she was touched like this. She could only nod. Not too long after, the jingling of a buckle sounded. He was un-doing his belt. Sophie went to desperately unbutton her pants, unzipping them. He unzipped his as well. She went to pull her pants and panties down completely while Arthur only pulled his down low enough to have his rather erect member poke out. However, before she could kick her pants off, he grabbed the back of her legs and lifted her onto the back of the couch. 

She squeaked in slight surprise. He was stronger than his rather boney body gave him off to be. He tore her pants from her ankles and forced her legs open. Without warning, he shoved himself inside her tight, wet, warm walls. Sophie bit her lip. He was really big. Like, really _really_ big.

“O-Oh my—” she gasped, as he began bucking his hips.

Sophie’s eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head, one hand digging it’s nails into his clothed shoulder while the other gripped and tugged at his messy hair. He had one of his arms locked around her back to keep her from falling over. Meanwhile the other hand was digging into the skin of her hips. With each powerful thrust, he grunted, growled lowly, he almost sounded like an animal. He went to latch his teeth onto the nape of her neck, biting down harshly. Enough to surely break the skin.

“Ahh!” Sophie gritted her teeth. The stinging sensation was deliciously painful. Yet, the pain actually stimulated her pleasure. Never had she been handled so roughly like this. It was so exciting. “O-Oh….yes…Mr. Fleck, yes!!—”

“C-Call me Arthur baby, call me Arthur. Just Arthur..” He whispered in her ear, his hot breath tickling the shell of her ear. 

His thrusts began picking up speed, as did they become deeper, his whole shaft disappearing inside of her instead of partial. Hell, even his force picked up a bit, to the point the couch bucked with each thrust. God, she felt so good! So wet and tight. He never imagined it would feel so intoxicating being inside a woman. It definitely made sense to him why his ex-coworkers would talk up sex so much with a woman. But she wasn’t just any woman to him. She was Sophie Dumond. **_His_** Sophie Dumond. No one else’s.

Meanwhile, she was enjoying herself a little bit too much. Each time he slammed himself into her, she let out a moan. They only got louder with each entry. Her legs found themselves around his waist, aiding in the depth of his member. It felt like hours they had been going at it, yet, it had only been fifteen minutes. 

To say it was Arthur’s first time, he was holding out pretty well. However, he was beginning to feel a tightness in his stomach. Something he was unfamiliar with. He finally unlatched his teeth from her, the spot a bright red and wet with saliva, mixed in with a little blood. He then went to kiss her lips again, shoving his tongue into her mouth.

She moaned loudly into his mouth, nails steadily scratching at the yellow satin fabric of his vest. She could feel herself reaching that sweet peak of release as well. As soon as she did, she broke the kiss once again, going to shout his name. Hearing her shout his name was enough to drive him over the edge. He let a loud grunt escape his lips, releasing his hot, sticky load right into her womb. Once he had finished filling her up, he pulled out, still keeping his arm wrapped around her waist. 

Sophie leaned forward, going to rest her face into his shoulder. Her body became heavy against him. 

“Mmm, are you alright, Doll?” he mumbled softly, his sudden dark demeanor he had entered in with never diminishing. 

“Mhmm…” she nodded lazily.

“Just….tired…….Are you okay..?” Sophie went to sit up, looking into his eyes. Fatigue mixed in with concerned glistened off of her dark brown eyes. Arthur released her, letting her go to slide off the couch and stand up on her own. She let out a soft moan, feeling his seed ooze out of her and drip on the floor. She felt herself blushing. She’d have to clean it up soon.

“Peachy. Never better.” Arthur pulled up his pants. He zipped them and buckled his pants. “Here, let’s get you to bed.” 

He stooped down a bit and snuck his arm under the back of her knees. Meanwhile, his other arm cradled her back. Sophie squeaked lightly, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their eyes locked as Arthur walked with her in his arms, gazes never breaking. Sophie’s heart couldn’t help but flutter. His stare…it was so un-Arthur-like. Yet, it was enough to still make her weak in the knees. Well, she was sure she would be weak in the knees anyways after their festivities. Once he had gotten her into her room, he laid her down on her silk maroon colored sheets gently. Arthur pulled the covers back for her and then draped them over her. 

Arthur stood above her, staring for a bit, before he went to reach into his pocket. He pulled out his cigarette pack and a lighter. He opened the box and pulled one out, before closing the pack and shoving them in his pocket. He went to stick the cigarette in between his painted lips, flipping the lighter open and lighting the end.

“Goodnight, Doll.” He said softly, going to turn and walk towards the door to her bedroom.

“W-Wait..” Sophie sat up, a frown on her tired features. She looked a bit disappointed. “A….Are you not going to stay…?” she was trying not to sound desperate, but secretly, she really wanted him to stay.

He paused. He turned his head slightly. Though, his hair still covered most of his features. 

“…Not tonight…I have to tend to my wounds. You get some sleep.”

Sophie nodded lightly. Though she really wanted him to stay, she let him go. She listened as his footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until the light opening and slamming of the door sounded. She then laid back down and curled up a bit. She guessed it was going to be another lonely night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers! Its been awhile, hasn't it? ^^ 
> 
> Alas, I have returned with chapter 9, FINALLY!!! Sorry it took me awhile ^^;
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy these juicy, smut action. Its been a VERY long time since I've written smut outside of the usual rps I do with friends. So bare with me here xD
> 
> Until next time!


	10. Red Sunflowers

“Uh, Sophie,” as Sophie was distracted, one of her coworkers, Mia Opal, had leaned over the busy woman’s shoulder, speaking lowly to where no one else could hear. “You _might_ wanna cover up that big ‘ol red spot a bit more.”

Sophie’s cheeks grew hot. She knew this damn big shirt wasn’t going to help! But she couldn’t help herself. It was cute and pleasing to the skin. An orange button-up collared short sleeve blouse that was a bit too baggy on her. Any other times she wore it, she had to struggle to keep pulling it up to cover the mark. But it’s the only one she had clean that could _somewhat_ cover the mark. Sophie grabbed the cuff of the collar and pulled it up, once again trying to hide the mark.

“Oooh, looks like Sophie had some _fun_ last night!” Doug Cobberman, her other coworker that sat on the other side of her teased. He was playing with his pencil, biting his lower lip to keep from giggling too loudly.

“Shhh, shut up!” Sophie scolded him, her eyes wide and bugging out as her teeth were gritted. She didn’t want anyone hearing her business.

“Geez, you’re so damn loud, Doug!” Mia scolded, before going to look back at Sophie, mug clenched in her hand. “So, who was it? I’m most certain he’s tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Like me?” Doug smoothed over his dirty blonde locks, before batting his matching dirty blonde eyelashes, his eyes as blue as the sky.

“Yeah, sure asshole.” Mia rolled her eyes, as Doug scoffed in return. She then glanced back at Sophie. “So c’mon, tell me. Who’s the lucky guy?—”

Sophie was breaking out into a very light sweat. All of this was only making her even more nervous. Being put on the spot was unnerving. And very uncomfortable. She didn’t feel it was necessary to put out there what was her and Arthur’s business. She was never one for gossip. Its why she always hung out with boys more than she did girls when she was younger.

“I-I mean…he is _definitely_ …something else. I can’t tell you who he is though.” Said Sophie shyly, going to furiously type on her computer. She was trying to act as if she was too preoccupied to talk. But if she knew some of her coworkers, they wouldn’t let up.

“But why nooooot?” Sophie jumped lightly when she felt arms wrap around her shoulders. She could tell the cheap perfume off of this one. Tanya Richards. She was indeed loud and obnoxious. She _certainly_ didn’t need to know what was going on.

“Buzz off Tanya,” Mia hissed, after taking a sip of her coffee.

“Mind your damn business, slut.”

“Oh! You wanna go, hoe?” Tanya pulled herself off of Sophie and snapped her fingers, rolling her head at Mia. “’Cause if you wanna go, we can always do this after work honey—”

“Oooh, fiesty.” Doug took a sip of his coffee, now having his leg crossed over his knee with his left hand securing it. “Please go on, ladies.”

“Doug, you’re not helping..” Sophie grumbled, rubbing her temples. How was she supposed to get any work done with those two at each other’s throats?

“Is there a problem, ladies?” came a familiar voice. Sophie sighed lightly in relief. Thank _god_. Judd Nicholes. Their boss.

“N-No sir.” Both of them spoke simultaneously, stiffening at his presence. Even Doug went to spin himself back around, pretending he was working.

“Do I have to remind you Ms. Richards, that I put your desk over on the other side for a _reason_?” Judd stared at Tanya with his deep, ocean blue eyes. They practically pierced into her. It took everything in Sophie’s power not to laugh.

“Y-Yes sir. Imma just go…over there. Yeah.” Sophie could hear the scuffling of Tanya’s heels, signaling the female quickly moved to where she was supposed to be.

“And you, Ms. Opal. I need those reports done,” Judd began walking off, taking a sip of his own coffee. “ _Today_!”

“Y-Yes sir!” Mia quickly took her seat next to Sophie and turned on her computer. As soon as Judd’s footsteps had faded off a good distance, both Doug and Sophie looked at Mia, then exchanged glances, then began snickering and giggling amongst themselves. Mia rolled her dark green eyes, going to type in her password into the system. “Tight bastard…”

Sophie dragged herself up the stairs, exhausted. The damn elevator had broke again and so, everyone was forced to climb the stairs for now until they could get it “fixed”. She was so burnt out and tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. Though, that wasn’t the only thing on her mind. All she could think about was her night with Arthur. The aura he gave off. The menacing nature. The aggressiveness. The way he kept slamming into her, his grunts and low growls. His slight roughness. Her hand thoughtlessly found its way to the spot where he had marked her, feeling her cheeks heaten a bit. She hadn’t seen him since last Friday, which had been about three days ago. She was kind of starting to miss him.

_No Sophie…this is wrong…_ she thought to herself. _It’s not right to have wild sex with some stranger who just comes barging into your apartment…what if it were some crazy lunatic? Would you crumble then?_

Sophie paused.

That was a good question.

If it had not been Arthur practically breaking into her apartment and very slyly demanding sex from her, would she have given it to them?

Surely not, no. She was not some prostitute. Someone who was easy. Her mother taught her better than that. So again, would she have had sex with someone she didn’t know? No. Absolutely not. Then again, its not like Arthur was a _complete_ stranger. Sophie may not have known much about him, but she still did know at least a few things about him. Like…he lived next door. He must of worked as some sort of entertainment clown for a living. And his condition. And he goes to therapy. But other than that, nothing else. Nothing about his backstory. His childhood. His biggest dreams and goals. Hell, even his favorite _color_!

_Oh Dumond, what have you gotten yourself into, girl? You know nothing of this man!_ Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. She shook her head and continued climbing the stairs.

That’s okay. Maybe she could….get to know him. Ask to take things slow. Hangout a couple of times to see if she actually, truly liked him.

Soon, she would arrive on her floor, walking down the hall. Once she was within the vicinity of her door, she paused. She saw something on her mat in front of the door. She raised a brow. She was just pulling out her keys when she went to let her hands fall back to her sides. She slowly inched towards her door, heels softly clicking against the glossed over wooden floors. The sounds of dogs barking, loud TVs, and babies crying filled the empty hall. Within a few moments, she was standing before her door, standing over a bouquet of red sunflowers. She let the tips of her fingers cover her lips, before looking on both sides of the hall. She then looked back down and stooped down, going to pick them up. Red sunflowers. Just like the one off of Arthur’s clown persona’s plaid jacket. These were obviously not real. The stem was plastic, and the glued on petals were rough, yet smooth to the touch. Hidden under them was a small card. She picked that up as well, and read the neat, cursive handwriting.

**_Coffee?_ **

**_Saturday morning, 9?_ **

**_-Arthur Fleck_ **

Sophie raised a brow, before going to glance over at Arthur’s door. A small smile tingled upon her lips. Damn. He beat her to the punch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful, lovely readers!
> 
> Iiiiits Valentines Day tomorrow! *Insert barfing noises* And so, my early Valentines Day present to you is...this chapter! 
> 
> Just a little look-see into the aftermath of what happened in the previous chapter, mostly focused in Sophie's P.O.V. So I hope you enjoy!
> 
> See you next time! ^^


	11. Coffee

The rest of the week went by smoothly. Okay, well, maybe not smoothly for Sophie. For the whole week prior, Arthur was acting a bit…strange. She knew he was following her to work. She wasn’t clueless. She also took notice of how much rarer she was seeing him. Usually she would catch him on his way to work in the mornings and even catch him when he was returning home from the shift at night. As a matter of fact, she had half a mind to go check up on him and ask if things were well. However, she figured she would catch him the following Saturday.

Sophie exited her bathroom, having gotten ready for their little coffee session today. She wore her hair in a low poof bun this time. She wore a blue V-cut dress that stopped just above her knees. A black belt was fastened around her waist, hugging it tightly. Over it she wore a black cardigan, and she wore black flats. Something not too fancy. Just a casual little dress with casual little shoes. She had checked the clock on her wall. It was five minutes to nine. She twisted her mouth and crossed her arms. Part of her wanted to have faith that he would actually show up on time. However, seeing as though last time, he didn't, she wouldn’t get her hopes up.

Right when the clock struck nine, there were a few knocks on the door.

Sophie’s head turned towards her door. She had decided to make herself comfortable on the couch for awhile. After she looked towards the door, she quickly sprung up and made her way to the door. She made sure to prompt her hair and clothes a little, before she reached and grabbed the knob, opening the door.

Surprise, surprise. This time, it was Arthur without his make-up. He was wearing a grey cardigan over a white collared shirt. Over those layers was his usual dark yellow jacket. He wore a different pair of jeans—Nicer jeans that were un-faded and nicely pressed. Upon his feet he wore black leather loafers.

“H-Hi…” and there he was. The shy, timid Arthur Sophie had come to know and be fond of for about two weeks.

“Hi Arthur.” Sophie smiled sheepishly herself. “You look nice. Per usual.”

“Th-Thank you…..Y-You..you look beautiful…per usual.” He said shyly. He glanced into her eyes before glancing downward.

“Thank you.” Sophie moved closer. Arthur gulped down the lump in his throat. “Well…I guess we ‘ought to get going, hm?”

“Yeah! Uh-huh. S-Sure.” He held out his arm, gesturing for her to hook arms. Sophie did indeed take the bait and took his arm, allowing him to escort her out of her apartment room. She closed the door behind her and made sure it was locked, before they would leave to have their little “quality time” together.

The walk to the coffee shop seemed to have a bit of an awkward silence. Could you blame them? Both of them still felt very awkward about their last encounter. Until they could clear the air about that situation, both remained tense and silent towards one another. About thirty minutes later, and they would find themselves at one of the local coffee shops. They took a seat at one of the booths. Sophie went to sit her purse down on the side of her, as Arthur went to take off his jacket and place it next to him. Once both of them finished fidgeting and were now facing each other, Sophie was the first one to speak up after her light sigh.

“Arthur….we need to talk.” Sophie and a few others near them jumped a bit, as Arthur found himself bursting out into a bit of laughter. He clutched onto his chest and cleared his throat, immediately stopping the laughing fit.

“I-I’m s-sorry..” he mumbled.

“You’re good.” Sophie replied, shaking her head, as she bounced her leg a bit.

“N-No. Not just with that…” Arthur’s green eyes averted to the window. The sun’s early morning rays that pierced through the glass window hit his eyes, causing his pupil to dilate and his eyes somehow become even brighter. Sophie found herself mesmerized at the sight, before mentally scolding herself for getting distracted.

“Oh?” Sophie crossed her arms and sat back, her back now up against the red cushioning. “So…then what is it Arthur?”

“I—”

“Good morning!” the waitress came over. All sudden dreadful feelings for Arthur vanished into awkwardness, as did Sophie’s curiosity. “Welcome! What can I get for you today?”

It wasn’t hard to tell that the waitress was feigning her enthusiastic and bubbly attitude. After all, both Sophie and Arthur practiced that a bunch of times in their own ways.

“Yes, uh…I’ll have a mocha…can I also have ice in mine?” Sophie traced her lower lip with her finger as she bit the corner, seemingly thoughtful.

“You sure can!” she replied, going to write down her order. She then turned to Arthur. “And for you, sir?”

“Uh, j-just black for me please…”Arthur glanced at her before glancing back at the table.

“Alrighty. I’ll be back with your orders in a few.” The waitress smiled, before walking off.  
Silence once again fell upon the two. Sophie was a bit hesitant to speak the next words. Arthur was terrified of what her next words would be. He decided it would be best if he spoke up.

“I….I got fired from my job the Friday before last…” Arthur said softly, looking up at Sophie finally.

Sophie’s brows furrowed. Did he mean…the night he came in and…performed those activities…was the time when he…

“Oh my gosh, Arthur,” Sophie reached across the table. She gently placed her hand atop Arthur’s in a gentle, soft gesture. “Why didn’t you tell me?—”

“I-It’s alright…” Arthur gave her a slight nervous smile. “I…I have a gig coming up soon…Its…Its at Pogo’s….”

Sophie raised a brow. She was aware of Pogo’s. Its a place where a lot of comedians tend to kick-start their careers by doing some stand-up comedies. She just had never gone. With Arthur’s last job, she wasn’t surprised he would find an interest in it. She nodded lightly, before the waitress would return with their orders of coffee.

“Here you go. Enjoy!” the waitress had placed their orders in front of both very carefully, making sure not to spill either. Once they were safely where they needed to be, she immediately walked off to go tend to the other customers. The two made sure to say their thank yous' before she left.

“So, when is it?” Sophie questioned, going to raise her mug to her lips.

Arthur nearly choked on his at her response, as his light green eyes looked at her with shock.

“Wh-What?....You…wanna….you’d come?”

“Of course.” Sophie giggled. “I mean…why would I not? Friends support friends, right?”

Arthur’s heart leapt into his throat. They were…friends…?

“……E-Even after what….we did…?” Arthur looked down at his coffee. He would be lying if he said a part of him wasn’t still a tad bit upset that she only saw him as a friend. Then again, expecting them to be more would be pushing it. He considered himself lucky at all to be sitting before the woman.

“…..I mean….the night we had together…..It was….nice..” Sophie sighed, trying to take things slow. She felt she needed to get this out now. “But…I believe we should take things slow for now. I don’t want to rush things.”

“…….” Arthur fell silent. His eyes scanned hers. Thus far from what he could tell, she wasn’t telling a fib. Nor was her eyes sparkling with malicious, mischievous intent. He felt comfortable around her. Like he could actually trust her. Plus, that little phrase she said gave him hope.

He nodded slowly, going to sip his coffee. Probably in a different universe, there was a Sophie that didn’t forgive him. That thought he was a freak. Some sort of disgusting pervert. Some sort of monster. She probably would never want to see him again. He was just lucky he was living in a universe where she was understanding of how sorry he was and how he never wanted what happened to happen. At least, not like that. He just…lost control. He was on edge. And hopefully something like that would never happen again. At least, not until she wanted him to. He would never force her into something she didn’t feel comfortable with. Never. Ever.

He will _never_ hurt her. _Ever_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I am SOOOOOO sorry that it has taken me DECADES to post this chapter. A LOT has been going on (as you can tell) AND, on top of that, I kind of lost interest in the whole Joket 2019 SophiexArthur storyline for awhile until I got sucked back in. So, here I am, BACK with another chapter and getting back to work on working on the other chapters! So stay tuned for more UwU


	12. Reminders

On the way back to their apartment, Sophie was laughing and smiling majority of the time. Though the atmosphere around them was gloomy and heavy, the aura that they shared was light and heavenly. It was as if they were in their own little bubble. Arthur would say or do something Sophie would find cute and amusing, and she would end up smiling and giggling at him. He loved watching her smile. He loved hearing her laugh. He could die happy right there knowing that she was enjoying his presence, enjoying his company.

On the other end, Sophie never knew that Arthur was this amusing. Though their little coffee get-together was nerve-wracking and heavy, it seems as though both of them were much lighter now. Now that both of them had gotten what they had want to get off of their chests. She was just lucky instead of turning her back on him for his strangeness, she took the time to acknowledge her mistake and try again. Now, she understands why he is the way he is.

Apparently for the longest, Arthur lived with his mother ever since his father disappeared. His mother, whom he told her her name was Penny Fleck, was currently a little under the weather. He didn’t want to just up and leave, especially considering that she’s getting up their in age. 69 to be exact. Poor thing. He had to be the man of the house even at such a young age. Though he didn’t really want to go much into detail, he had a rough childhood. But he managed to pull through for the most part. Sophie could relate to a certain degree.

She told him that her father was possibly still in jail. Back when her mother and father were young, they were considered an interracial couple, which was illegal at their time. They got caught one night when a gang member had approached them on their late night stroll. In order to protect himself and her mother, he fired a gun he had on him and killed the man. A few moments later, and the cops showed up. They arrested both of them, however, her mother’s father was able to bail her out. They didn’t want Sophie’s mother to sit in jail, rotting with a baby on the way. Yes, Sophie’s mother was pregnant with her at the time. For most of her life, her mother had to raise her all on her own. She would never get to meet her father, if he was even still alive. Other than that, Sophie had mostly a normal childhood growing up, her mother trying to cover up the fact that they were in poverty, by trying to give her everything she wanted that was within a good budget. Good thing Sophie wasn’t a kid who expected much.

Arthur listened to every word she said. He was genuinely curious about her. All this time, he would see her and barely speak a word. Only to come so far as to actually know more about her past. Both of their childhoods agreed on one thing; Gotham was a terrible city. And her father? Poor man. Though, something about that little piece made Arthur even more worried. Don’t think he hasn’t forgotten about his little incident that happened. 

As a matter of fact, the Saturday morning after that disastrous Friday night went a little something like this:

“ _Arthur!” his mother’s frail voice called from the living room couch. Her eyes were steadily focused on the TV. Her pale blue eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the man that was currently on TV._

_“Yes Ma?” he replied, grabbing the slightly burnt toast from the toaster. He decided he would make her some toast for today’s breakfast._

_“Come! Come look! Look who’s on TV! It’s Thomas Wayne!” Penny exclaimed, her tone filled with adoration and admiration. Arthur had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the mentioning of this man for about the one hundredth time. Not that he had anything against the man personally. Its just he was aware of how rich people could be towards the lower middle and lower class._

_“Coming Ma.” He put the knife down, sticky with butter, and began making his way over. He took a drag of the cigarette he had set in a little glass ashtray they kept in the kitchen portion._

_Arthur took a seat next to his mother and watched, as she grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. Arthur’s green eyes flashed at the familiar faces displayed on screen. The three boys from the subway station. Arthur’s memories came flooding back to him as if it were yesterday. Well, technically, it was yesterday. Unknowingly, the corner of his lips curved up just a tad bit, as Thomas Wayne spoke._

_“Whomever this sick being is who could of done such a thing to those innocent kids will not go unpunished. I will bring justice to their names if you vote for me, Thomas Wayne.” The TV’s volume buzzed._

Innocent? They weren’t innocent. Not at all. _Arthur thought, as his leg began to bounce without him noticing, him going to stretch his arms high above his head. His nerves must have been acting up at the mentioning._

_“They were saying they suspect the criminal to have been wearing a clown mask or something.” Said Penny, before she glanced over to her son. She frowned, seeing that he was suddenly nervous. “Arthur, is everything alright?” she asked softly._

_“Mhmm.” Arthur continued to bounce his leg._

“Arthur.” Sophie had called for the fourth time, snapping a finger in front of his face. Arthur immediately snapped out of it and glanced down at Sophie.

“I-I’m sorry…what?” Arthur asked, looking at Sophie apologetically. 

“We’re home now.” Sophie said. It was then Arthur noticed his surroundings.

Miraculously the elevator didn’t lag this time and took them all the way to their destination, where they walked down the halls to stand in front of Sophie’s door. Arthur felt his cheeks grow hot in embarrassment and nodded.

“Y-Yeah…that we are…” he said, smiling a bit to try and ease his embarrassment. Sophie giggled in response, shaking her head.

“It’s alright. I was just making sure you knew.” She said playfully, going to unlink arms with Arthur. How he wished she didn’t have to and they could stay that way. Sophie moved to her door and pulled out her keys. Arthur slid his hands into his pockets and waited patiently. It felt rude if he would just leave her there and go back to his apartment without giving a proper good-bye. Let alone leave her in the hall unsupervised. You never know what could happen.

“Y-Yeah…”

“Well, I guess this is good-bye for now.” Said Sophie, as she managed to unlock and open her door. She paused and glanced at Arthur. Her brown eyes focused on him, her smile bright. “I’ll see you Wednesday? 8 o’clock?”

“Yup. My gig starts at 8:30.” Arthur gave her a small smile.

“Great. See you then.” Sophie winked, before she turned and went back inside, closing the door behind her.

Arthur’s breath caught in his throat, as his heart dared stop. Did she…did she just _wink_ at him?

 _Relax, Arthur…_ he thought, smoothing back his hair. He stared at her door for a little, before turning, making his way towards his door. He stopped midway to glance back at Sophie’s door once more, before a wide, cheesy grin decorated his features. He then continued walking back to his apartment room, where he would reside for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a little kiss-up for not updating this story for months, I decided to go ahead and toss in another chapter. I hope this makes up for it QwQ

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my beautiful lovely readers!
> 
> I just want to thank you for taking the time out of your very busy day to read my thoughts and ideas that I have for this lovely couple. It means a lot.
> 
> Also, if my formatting and such seems a bit weird, I want to apologize in advance. Not used to using this site as a writing source xD
> 
> I will try to update as often as I can, though note, I am a VERY busy college student. So I can't make any promises!
> 
> Anyways, that's all. Until next time!


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